On Mooney today...

We've got a year's supply of electricity to give away to four primary schools - the details of how to enter this fabulous competition will be revealed just after 3pm. Plus song-writer Gerry Fleming tells us about his success with The Hit...

AND... Jim Wilson is a Corkman, so we have made him our LEINSTER judge in the interests of fairness! He joins us today from our Cork studio to explain what he'll be looking for in choosing a winning school...

Jim's latest book is called The Birds Of Ireland: A Field Guide, and is co-written with Mark Carmody. It's published by The Collins Press, the RRP is €14.99, and the ISBN is 9781848891791. More information is available by clicking here.

Whilst Mooney reporter Brenda Donohue is out today at Holy Cross Primary School in Dundrum, Dublin, to talk to the school's Principal Ultan Mac Mathúna, and Green Schools Co-Ordinator Karen Cinnamon, to find out what schools are currently doing to improve their local environment...

Mooney's Money

Up for grabs each day this week is a fantastic prize for you and a friend to the opening night of 'New Jersey Nights' at the Gaiety theatre next February.

The show is a spectacular celebration of the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, and takes the audience on a nostalgic musical journey through the career of one of the biggest selling groups of all time featuring the nostalgic hits - Sherry, Rag Dolls, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like A Man and so many more. Tickets are on sale now, but each day this week a lucky winner and guest will be treated to VIP box tickets to the opening night on February 24th, an overnight stay at the 4-star Clarion Hotel with bed and breakfast plus there’s also €500 of Mooney's Money too!

Just answer this question:

True or false: New Jersey is a state in the USA?

If you think you know the answer, call or text the competition line:

ROI: 1515 71 72 00

NI: 0901 293 3501

text MOONEY followed by your answer and name to 57111 (NI and ROI)

Each text entry costs €1 (incl VAT) or GBP £1.00. Calls from the eircom network will cost €1.02 (incl VAT) and from a BT landline will cost GBP £1.02. Calls from other networks and from mobiles will cost more.

Please note, the person named in the entry must be aged 18 years or older as at date of entry.

Competition lines open from 2pm and will close at 4.20pm on Monday, September 2nd 2013. Please do not enter outside of the advertised competition window as you will be charged for your entry, but your entry will not be included. From time to time, these open/close times may vary. Any change to the standard open/close times will be announced here and on the show. The cash prize winner will be announced on-air towards the end of Mooney each day.

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Copenhagen To Host Eurovision Song Contest 2014

This morning, our friends over at Danmarks Radio, the Danish public broadcaster, have just announced the venue for Eurovision 2014.

Next May, the B&W (Burmeister & Wain) Hallerne at the Refshaleøen, Copenhagen, will host the 59th Eurovision Song Contest, under the slogan for 2014 – 'Join Us'.

It's Denmark’s third time hosting Eurovision, and they do so next year courtesy of a very charming, 20-year-old, singer-songwriter called Emmelie de Forest, who performed Only Teardrops (pictured).

Our very own EuroGuru, Paul G. Sheridan, is in studio with Derek today, and he reckons the city authorities will have their work cut out for them to get everything ready...

Gerry Fleming, Writer Of The Hit's The Last Great Love Song

Last Friday night, with the backing of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Finbar Furey thrilled those at Dublin’s O2 Arena and viewers of RTÉ’s The Hit with his version of Gerry Fleming’s song, The Last Great Love Song.

And after weeks of intense competition, Clonsilla's newest best-known songwriter swooped the €20,000 prize-money for his number one song in the Irish charts.

So what is it like to go from nowhere to number one in the space of a week? Gerry Fleming, who is the man who wrote The Last Great Love Song, is in studio with Derek to explain...

Hedgerows: It is an offence to 'cut, grub, burn or otherwise destroy hedgerows on uncultivated land during the nesting season from 1 March to 31 August, subject to certain exceptions'. For more information, click here.

UPDATE: February 29th 2016 - Press Release From BirdWatch Ireland:

Putting the record straight: Dates for burning and hedge-cutting have NOT changed

BirdWatch Ireland, Ireland’s largest conservation charity, is very concerned about misinformation that is currently circulating regarding the dates within which the burning of vegetation and cutting of hedges is permitted. It would like to remind landowners that all burning and cutting must cease on 29th February this year and that burning and cutting remains prohibited from 1st March to 31st August.

Despite attempts by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys T.D., to change the laws regulating these dates by introducing the Heritage Bill 2016 earlier this year, it is important to note that the proposed date changes were ultimately NOT made. This is because the bill failed to pass through both houses of the Oireachtas before the recent dissolution of the Dáil in advance of the general election.

The laws in place governing the dates for hedge-cutting and upland burning therefore remain unchanged. The period within which cutting and burning is prohibited are set down in Section 40 of the Wildlife Act 1976 (as amended in 2000), which states that:

(a) It shall be an offence for a person to cut, grub, burn or otherwise destroy, during the period beginning on the 1st day of March and ending on the 31st day of August in any year, any vegetation growing on any land not then cultivated.
(b) It shall be an offence for a person to cut, grub, burn or otherwise destroy any vegetation growing in any hedge or ditch during the period mentioned in paragraph (a) of this subsection (above).

The existing law provides exemptions for road safety and other circumstances and should be read carefully to ensure compliance.

Section 40 of the Wildlife Act exists to protect nesting birds. Many of our upland bird species are in decline and are in danger of extinction in Ireland; amongst them is the Curlew, which has declined by 80%. Many birds which nest in hedgerows into August are also in serious decline, including the endangered Yellowhammer. The changes to the cutting and burning dates which had been proposed in the now-defunct Heritage Bill 2016 would have caused serious impacts to these birds. A petition launched by BirdWatch Ireland in conjunction with several other national conservation organisations to stop these changes attracted more than 16,200 signatures and rising.

BirdWatch Ireland would also like to advise members of the public that if they see hedges being cut or fires in the uplands on or after 1st March, such activity could be illegal. In such cases, we would encourage people to contact the National Parks and Wildlife Service (www.npws.ie) to report such activity.

BirdWatch Ireland warmly welcomes the demise of the Heritage Bill 2016 and sincerely hopes that any future administration will consider the importance of Ireland’s natural heritage and will not attempt to reintroduce such a flawed and damaging piece of legislation.

RTÉ.ie is the website of Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Ireland's National Public Service Broadcaster.RTÉ is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. Images courtesy of Inpho.ie and Getty Images.